Diet of Worms
by arianedartagnan
Summary: In 1122, powerful mages of the Celestial Chorus attended the Diet of Worms and established the Church as the dominant power in Europe. Now, in the year 2030, with the Church ascendant throughout the world, a group of mages breaks into the Umbral prison of Hell in order to free a young boy...
1. Genesis, or the Book of Beelzebub

Genesis, or the Book of Beelzebub

In the beginning, all was nothingness and void; then God said: "Let there be light" and there was light; and the light was good; but He was not yet pleased.

Then He made the heavens and the earth, and the Umbra and the seas; and he created all manner of beings to habit these: angels to float in the heavens and beasts to walk upon the earth, spirits to dwell in the Umbra and fishes to swim in the seas.

And the Lord looked upon the angels and beasts, the spirits and fishes, and He thought them good; but He was not yet pleased.

Then He made Man in his own image and set him upon the earth, and gave him dominion over the beasts of the land and the fishes of the sea; and Man, like Angel, sang songs of praise to the Lord.

But the Lord was not yet pleased, for what separated Man from Angel?

Thus He gave to Man the gift of Free Will, and He summoned the Angel of Choice and Consequence Beelzebub to deliver these tidings; He forbade Beelzebub to partake of this gift himsef, for the angels were facets of a manifold God.

But Satan whispered temptations in the heart of the Angel of Choice and Consequence; and Beelzebub betrayed his Lord, for he delivered the gift of Free Will to men, but he encouraged them to seek false gods and defy the Will of the Lord; and he partook of Free Will himself and so willingly separated from God.

In His wrath, the Lord sent Tyrael, the Angel of Justice, to earth to set things right; furiously did Beelzebub strive against the Angel of Justice, but Tyrael bore the strength of God and so he broke Beelzebub's pride, and breached his power; and then he bound Beelzebub to the consequences of his choice, for Tyrael now raised up a mighty prison in the Umbra that he called Hell, and to the Ninth Circle of Hell he chained Beelzebub.

But the Angel of Justice could not revoke Free Will from mankind, for it had been a gift from God Himself, delivered from the hand of His own angel; and Tyrael was displeased.

But when he had returned to heaven and knelt before the Lord, then God said unto him: "O Tyrael, lament not the Free Will of thy mortal cousins; for though they may sin, and though they may defy my Plan, yet this was my gift to them: that they may choose for themselves between my eternal Love and Lucifer's perpetual Torment. For this shall separate them from the angels, and this shall make them human."

Though the Angel of Justice did not understand, yet he acquiesced in his Lord's judgment, and he spake thus: "O my Lord, let Thy Will be done. Men shall choose freely, and they shall bear the consequences of their choices, and the angel Beelzebub shall be the embodiment of Thy gift."

And the Lord looked out across the heavens and the Umbra, and down upon the earth and the seas, and He was pleased.


	2. Book of Judith 1

Book of Judith 1

In the year of our Lord 1122, righteous mages of the Celestial Chorus attended the Concordat of Worms; there they raised up the Church in all the West, and thenceforth the Church governed in these places in accordance with the will of the Lord.

But not all lands under Heaven had yet seen the glory of the Lord, so the Church and the Chorus labored mightily to spread the word of God; they cast down the false ancient gods and the demons; they built a mighty prison, run by angels, in the Umbra to hold these wicked beings, and they called it Hell; and in the ninth and lowest level was chained Beelzebub, the most evil spirit of them all.

But there is no complete justice save in Heaven, and so it came to pass that in the year of our Lord 2030, an itinerant faith healer witnessed a young boy in a wheelchair seized on the street and born away to Hell; and she learned that in the Chamber of Revelations, he was sentenced to the Eighth Circle, for what crimes no one in the Church could tell.

The faith healer, whose name was Judith Baum, wondered at what she had seen and vowed to discover the whole truth, for she intended to set right any injustice.

Judith was renowned for her faith and devotion to the teachings of the Lord, and it had long been whispered that she could work miracles; two years ago, upon witnessing a plane crash into an orphanage, she had by the grace of God healed all the dead and wounded and transported them to safety.

For she had been granted the gift of holy Words when she alone came to the aid of an elderly man struck by a car; and these Words allowed her will, like the Will of God, to be done.

In the cause of justice, Judith found four allies, and these were their names: Theodorus Sallis, a friend of the young boy's parents, and Kira Adams, an adventurer who welcomed the opportunity to explore Hell; Kira in turn brought in her friend Derrick Uther, who claimed to have entered Hell previously with her sister Harriet Adams, and Terri Gonzalez, a Warden of Hell.

Having learned all that they could about the boy's disappearance, and having discovered that the Church itself knew little, they saw no other recourse but to traverse the depths of Hell in the name of justice; and they convened in Rome to plan their approach, the Gates of Hell being placed in the basement of the Vatican below the great library.

Because of Judith's piety and good-heartedness, although she was not a member of the Celestial Chorus, yet she was well known in the Church, and the librarian Kit was willing to help her.

So Kit expedited Judith's application to enter the library and assigned the Warden Terri to accompany her; and Judith, Terri, Theodorus, Kira, and Derrick arrived at the Vatican the following afternoon.


	3. Book of Theodorus

Book of Theodorus

When the party had come to the great doors of the Vatican, there they were stopped by the guards, Michael and his apprentice, for Michael was a man of the law and was disturbed by the irregularity of Judith's application. Verily, the names of Theodorus, Kira, and Derrick had not been listed, though Judith explained that they were her research assistants.

Then Judith called upon the Lord in an Entropy Effect, and He answered by inserting a second page to the application that included those names as research assistants, and Michael was satisfied.

Yet as he searched their possessions before permitting them to enter the great portals, he discovered the odd behavior of Kira's backpack, which when touched turned a strange cylindrical shape.

Kira said unto Michael: "It was a gift from my sister, Harriet, who thought it very humorous." But Michael did not find it humorous, and now Terri was also suspicious.

Now Terri examined the backpack, whereupon it emanated such a blast of unholy energy that she was thrown backwards; and when Judith pierced the fabric with Correspondence scrying, the cloth burned off to reveal the hat of Pope Innocent VII, who had sold his soul for immortality and been condemned to the Seventh Circle of Hell for his sin.

Kira spake thus: "I do not know whence it came, for my sister sent it to me."

But now the demonic hat had risen into the air, and was summoning all manner of evil spirits to it and darkening the skies; and inside the Vatican alarms were sounding and the people were fleeing outside in a great horde, not knowing that the true danger was without.

Then Theodorus hastily pulled out his clock and began to wind it to reverse Time, and Terri attempted to Smite the hat with lightning, but Kira deemed it best to enter the building in the confusion, and Derrick followed, having created fog from his staff to cover his departure.

Theodorus, Terri, and Judith stayed valiantly to battle the demonic hat until others arrived, and then they proceeded into the library, helping Theodorus in his wheelchair up the stairs.

While Terri disarmed the alarms with Prime and Judith forestalled anyone from approaching with Entropy, Theodorus, Derrick, and Kira labored mightily to enact a ritual, calling upon the powers of Matter and Forces; for they desired to open a hole in the floor of the library down to the Chamber of the Gates of Hell.

Yet these powers were too great for mortals to wield safely, and so Theodorus lost control of his Matter Effect and blasted a great hole in the floor fifteen feet across, through which he, Kira, and Derrick fell.

Although Theodorus could use Forces to slow his descent and Kira was experienced in such affairs and caught herself on a rope, yet Derrick was still plummeting towards his death. Then Terri invoked Correspondence to diminish the distance, and Kira snatched Derrick with a lasso in a dramatic rescue.

But the great crash had summoned the librarian Kit, who was dismayed to find precious and rare tomes tumbling into the Chamber below; and she had to be forestalled by Judith from climbing down to retrieve them.

Judith called upon Entropy to provide a distraction for Kit, yet it is folly for a mortal to summon great powers, and so a flaming ember from the battle outside burst through a window and blazed in the library as a pillar of fire in the desert.

And lo, the party had its distraction.


	4. Book of Terri 1

Book of Terri 1

Thus the party approached the Gates of Hell, and Terri the Warden of Hell stood forth and drew her mighty sword and spake these words:

"Through me you pass into the city of woe:

Through me you pass into eternal pain:

To rear me was the task of Power divine,

Supremest Wisdom, and primeval Love.

Before me things created were none, save things

Eternal, and eternal I endure.

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

Lo, when she spake these words, divine light shone forth from crystal pillars to illumine the Gates and burn any evil creatures that might seek to escape judgment, and the Gates swung majestically open for her; Terri led the party through the Gates, which shut behind the companions as they passed unto the First Circle of Hell.

Everywhere they looked, they saw white marble, pure as an angel's love; they came to an antechamber with a fountain, and the fountain showed a child angel slaying Beelzebub with a stream of blood, dark as an angel's wrath.

Beyond the fountain stood two angels, tethered to Hell like all angels, and guarding a shackled prisoner with bowed head; yet his binding was not only physical but metaphorical and could not be broken by mortal will.

And Terri recognized her partner and betrayer, Ezekiel: he who had released the false god Horus to ravage villages and who had been sentenced to the First Circle to suffer the agonies of his victims.

Seeing the angels, Terri sank to the floor in obeisance, and so too did Judith, but the others remained standing; and the angels, speaking in images, inquired of Terri her business in Hell with a larger group of prisoners than was customary for a Warden to escort.

Terri explained that she was taking them down to the Second Circle for judgment; in her heart she spake truly, for everyone shall come one day to the Chamber of Revelations.

Trustingly, the angels let her pass, and even asked her to take Ezekiel back to his cell, for they had only brought him unto the antechamber to taste briefly the freedom that would be his once he had repented truly.

Terri, seeing the secret smirk on his face, suspected that he was merely feigning repentance and was therefore infuriated; thus she threw him not back into his own cell but the worst one on the First Circle.

And then she led the party through the First Circle unto the Second.


	5. Book of Terri 2

Book of Terri 2

Unto the Second Circle of Hell, Terri led the party; and as they walked down the halls, they saw that the brilliant white marble was shot through with veins of red, red as the blood of martyrs.

When they came to the Chamber of Revelations, two angels spake to her and bade her leave the prisoners with them, for Hell had become dangerous and they did not advise a mortal to proceed any further; she heard the cacophony of anvils down below and was concerned, for it was not a normal sound.

Yet the Warden was unafraid and led the party past the angels and the Chamber of Revelations, and they walked the halls of the Second Circle until they came to a chamber of darkness that took all light, and all sound, and all magic cast into it; yea, like a voracious mouth it swallowed all sensations.

Although Terri knew that few who entered this chamber came out alive, yet the periodic rearrangements of Hell had left it as the only way to the Third Circle; when Judith cast holy water on the ground to search for a safe path through it, the water splashed back and burned her.

Valiantly, Kira tied a rope around herself and walked into the chamber, but almost immediately the line was severed, and when the others had drawn it out, they found that it had been cut with a Resonance of unholy hatred and rage.

Theodorus then sent in his small devices, which came out safely but on a different path, as if the ground were uneven; and Terri went in partway, with Theodorus and Judith holding her arm, and she discovered that once inside, all sensation but pain vanished.

But though they prayed to the Lord, they could find no other way to rescue Kira, so Terri tied a rope about her waist and ventured bravely into the chamber with her sword drawn.

There she found darkness and nothingness, like the darkness and nothingness before the Lord created the world; and she felt pain only when something grasped her legs and attempted to trip her.

She slashed out blindly with her sword but could not feel if it had hit; she could only swing and hope to strike the prisoner in the chamber, who had surely gone mad from sensory deprivation; and then she was suddenly back in the hallway, her companions having pulled her back out when they felt the movements in the rope.

Then she saw that clinging to her arm was Kira; and Kira had been slashed through the chest with Terri's divine sword, and gashed in the leg by the prisoner's knife; after Judith had ministered to her, Kira said that she had been wrestling with the prisoner when Terri tripped over them.

Terri felt the terrible injustice of what she had wrought and fervently beseeched the Lord for forgiveness.

Then Theodorus offered to modify his wheelchair to bear him straight across the chamber in hope of striking a door, but his Effect backlashed and flung him, Terri, and Judith into the darkness.

Terri again found herself cut off from all sensation, and so she struck out blindly with her blade, trusting the Lord to guide it; yet she struck Theodorus in the leg before the prisoner leapt upon her back and tried to stab her through her armor.

Fury like the vengeance of God blasted out as Terri slew the monster, but the force of her rage blew the prisoner's knife from his hands and drove it into Judith's leg.

Both Theodorus and Judith struck the floor and walls with their palms until they found their way back to the doorway and crawled into the corridor, but Terri remained within.

Without any way to locate her in the chamber, the others determined to form a chain and feel their way along the wall until they came to another door, and to strike anything that came at them; but in the darkness Terri came upon them and Derrick Smote her away.

At last they came to a door and exited into a new hallway, and then they came upon Terri, who had been blasted out of a different door and lay dying upon the floor.

Judith prayed mightily for the power to save her friend, and the Lord changed her Correspondence ability to Life, for He both giveth and taketh away; and Judith sprinkled holy water upon Terri's wounds and knit them up and bade her rise, for there was yet inequity to be righted.

Slowly and painfully did the Warden then lead the party unto the Third Circle of Hell.


	6. Scroll of Theodorus

Scroll of Theodorus (Fragment from the _Cycles of Hephaestus_ )

It came to pass that in the fifteenth year of the seventh cycle of Hephaestus, sole escapee of the Celestial Chorus' raid on New Olympus and god who continually reincarnated in the body of a crippled teenage boy, Theodorus, faithful servant of the god and leader of the Hellenites who worshiped him, directed his wheelchair into Hell to free his lord. Joining himself with a small group that had taken interest in the boy's fate and sought to investigate a potential miscarriage of justice, Theodorus hoped to rescue Hephaestus so they could continue building their great underwater city of New Delphi.

On the Third Circle, where the white marble darkened to an ominous grey and the red veins pulsed like hungry worms through the stone, he and his allies came to a great, sweltering hall hundreds of feet long. Through the steam, he discerned that along the walls, hundreds of sweating prisoners arduously hammered away on anvils. What they were creating, he could not tell, although Hephaestus would certainly know.

As they neared the end of the hallway, his heart leapt at the sight of four great bronze horses, each ten feet high, beside a massive adamantine chariot. The Horses of the Cabeiri, works of genius that Hephaestus himself had constructed for his sons! Theodorus hastened his wheelchair towards them, but at his approach, three of the horses suddenly charged towards the group. In anger at the Church members among them? In greeting to one who had come to free their master? Theodorus had no time to ponder before they were upon him.

Using Forces, he shot his wheelchair to a side, and he saw that Derrick had levitated himself above the horses' heads while Kira and Judith had also flung themselves to the side. Terri, however, had tripped and fallen right in the horses' path and was about to be trampled! To lose his guide through Hell would be unthinkable. At the last minute, Theodorus propelled her to safety.

As the Cabeirian horses thundered past and vanished into the steam, Theodorus and his companions warily continued to the end of the hall, where the last horse awaited them. With sorrow in his heart, he saw that this one had been severely damaged, its gears and clockwork mechanisms exposed. Painfully, oh, ever so agonizingly, it lurched over to him and sank to its knees before him.

An homage then, to the one who had come to rescue Hephaestus!

With the others watching, he could not acknowledge the horse's greeting, but in his heart he blessed it as they hurried onward.


	7. Book of Kira 1

Book of Kira 1

And so Kira descended unto the Eighth Circle of Hell; there the marble turned the black of evil and hate, dark as the wrath in Lucifer's heart; and there it was that she sought her sister Harriet, for Derrick had left her trapped in a deep hole.

And lo, it was as he had said, for the party came to a 150-foot shaft in the center of the path; and the depths of this hole defied the Warden's attempts to Correspondence scry into it.

Yet Kira knew with certainty, as certain as her faith in the Angel of Freedom, that at the bottom would she find her sister; and though the others doubted, she and Derrick insisted that they lower themselves into the shaft with a rope; and they convinced Theodorus to secure it with a Forces Effect; and the Warden came with them, bearing her sword.

Then Theodorus lowered them to the bottom of the shaft; there they discovered a smashed body that looked even more like Derrick than a twin, and the body of Harriet; and Kira saw with sorrow that her sister had expired from dehydration while awaiting rescue.

But all was not in vain, for Kira took up the turquoise Nullstone that the other Derrick had dropped during his plummet into the shaft; she and Derrick heaved the bodies over their shoulders, and they prepared to bear them back up.

But now the Warden grew suspicious, for when she inquired about the other Derrick, Derrick spake only these words: "It is very complicated;" and the Warden said that Kira was not sufficiently surprised or upset by the scene before them.

Yet verily Kira was not surprised, for Derrick had confessed all to her when he sought her out after escaping Hell; he it was who had given her the Pope's hat and other artifacts from Harriet.

Derrick had told her that Tyrael, Angel of Justice, had come across Harriet and the other Derrick as they explored the depths of Hell; but the Angel of Justice cannot Smite those who have not committed mortal sins, and so he had instead laid traps for them as they fled.

Together Harriet and Derrick had fallen into the shaft, but the Nullstone canceled all magical Effects around it; and so the other Derrick could not save himself.

Then Derrick had discovered Harriet and spoken with her; but Tyrael had led an angelic horde to the attack, and Derrick had fled and left her behind.

All this Derrick had told Kira, and other things besides; he spake to her of the injustice of the torments in Hell; and he convinced her to help him free every creature in the prison; for Man and Angel, Spirit and Beast alike are God's children and must be made free.


	8. Book of Judith 2

Book of Judith 2

Though Terri was not satisfied with Derrick's and Kira's explanations, yet she led the party down the corridors of the Eighth Circle of Hell unto the young boy's chamber; there they found him hard at work, designing and creating devices from bronze.

His room had no door, for he bore a collar around his neck, and metaphorical chains shackled him to his prison; and he was unimpressed by his visitors, for he believed that he could not be freed by mortal means.

He said unto them: "You cannot free me, for no mortal can break these bonds."

Verily, he spake truly, but he did not know that Kira bore a Nullstone that could undo all Effects, and that Judith could speak the Words of God.

But Kira and Derrick had fallen behind, and Judith sought first to know wherefore he had been imprisoned, for she wished to ensure that freeing him would be just in the eyes of the Lord.

And the boy spake thus: "I have been imprisoned by the angels to create weapons for the horde, for they see a coming war."

And Judith heard the truth in his words, for the angels always saw a coming war, and she felt that they had wronged him in imprisoning him thus, and that the Lord would be pleased if she should redress this evil.

So she spake a prayer: "Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed," and so saying, she uttered the Words of the Lord, beseeching Him to create a safe path out of Hell for all of the party who desired it.

The Words were un-hearable and un-knowable, yet wherever they were, her companions sensed the magnificent and awesome power of the Lord in them; the boy felt his fetters fall away; and portals to the Chamber of the Gates of Hell opened before everyone.

Then the boy revealed himself to be the false god Hephaestus, condemned by angels to the Eighth Circle to create weapons for his enemies; yet Judith still believed that she had served the Lord in freeing him, for his existence itself was not a sin.

When they looked around, they perceived that Terri, Kira, and Derrick had all vanished, to where they knew not.

Through the portal to the Chamber of the Gates of Hell, Judith accompanied Hephaestus and Theodorus, but once there, she turned back and looked at the other portals; she found that she could see through them; and she saw Terri pursuing Kira and Derrick down the hallway of the Eighth Circle towards the staircase leading to the Ninth, where Beelzebub was chained.

Though Theodorus and Hephaestus welcomed her to escape with them, she bade them farewell and rushed through a portal to confront Kira and Derrick.


	9. Book of Kira 2

Book of Kira 2

Unto the winding staircase came Kira and Derrick, and they prepared themselves to descend into the Ninth Circle of Hell; but Judith stepped out of a portal before them.

She said unto them: "What do you mean to do here? Wherefore do you seek the Ninth Circle of Hell, where is chained Beelzebub, prince of demons? Can this be good in the eyes of the Lord?"

And Kira said unto Judith: "All the prisoners in Hell must we set free, and this shall be pleasing to the Lord. For verily, having seen these Circles, can you say that these torments are part of a merciful God's plan?"

But Judith spake thus: "What of the evil spirits and demons imprisoned on the lower levels? Would you also free those who would raze cities and murder innocents for pleasure?"

Unto her Kira said: "Verily, do you believe that the Church will hearken unto the voice of Mercy? And if it not hears not the love of God, shall these torments be permitted to continue? Truly we speak in the Name of the Lord, and we act here as His Hand."

And Judith knew not what to say, for all through Hell she had seen the perfection of God's love perverted by the machinations of Man and Angel.

Then Derrick called unto Kira: "Time grows short! Behold, the Warden comes!" for Terri was rushing towards them with her sword drawn.

He spake again: "Go unto the Ninth Circle, my friend Kira; and I shall delay the Warden!"

Then down the stairs unto Beelzebub dashed Kira, bearing the Nullstone that would free him and unravel the prison; and Judith followed, calling unto her to cease this madness.

And so they passed the curve of the stairs, but before they passed out of sight, they heard the sweet strains of angelic music, and they looked back; they saw from Derrick's mundane form erupt a glorious angel, and the angel unfurled magnificent iridescent wings, and the music sang sweetly, "Behold Uriel, the Archangel of Freedom!"

And they saw that he alone of the angels was not shackled to Hell.

Judith was astounded, for she had no idea that she had walked beside an angel; but Kira was unsurprised, for Uriel had entrusted her with his secret.

And so Kira and Judith came to the Ninth Circle of Hell, where they beheld an endless sheet of ice; and in the center of the ice was a fallen angel with great black wings, shimmering like rainbows on oil; he was bound by celestial chains; and these chains drained away his soul to power the prison.

And lo, as she gazed upon this mighty creature brought low, who Beelzebub was called, Kira's heart ached with pity; she spake unto the Lord: "In Thy holy Name shall I use this Nullstone to break these bindings and free every child of Yours."


	10. Book of Uriel

Book of Uriel

Released from the form and limitations of his mortal seeming, Uriel the Angel of Freedom stretched his wings and prepared to attack the Warden, who rushed at him with her sword.

Yet before he could act, there was another delicate song in the air, and lo! The Angel of Justice Tyrael appeared beside Terri, sweeping her along as he soared towards Uriel.

Mightily the two angels strove, for each was fueled by his sense of righteousness: Uriel by the conviction that every creature must be made free, and Tyrael by the belief that every wrong must be punished and every evildoer imprisoned.

The theological import of their struggle overwhelmed the Warden; she could not decide which was on the side of the Lord; and because she was not convinced of her righteousness, her sword shattered when she raised it against Uriel.

For a long time, the two angels were evenly matched; but then Uriel was brought low by a Paradox backlash, and Tyrael shackled him even to the Ninth Circle of Hell and dragged him down the stairs.

There they came upon Kira and Judith, each still attempting to convince the other of the righteousness of her own path, as they slipped and skidded across the frozen lake.

The Warden Terri hurried to join them, and together with Judith attempted to overpower Kira and seize the Nullstone.

But the ice was slippery and treacherous, and all three mortals weakened by their long trek through Hell and the injuries they had sustained, and though they grappled mightily even at the feet of Beelzebub, none could get the upper hand.

Then Uriel rushed to Kira's aid and in his determination countered Judith's magic; he and Tyrael both attacked Terri with arguments for whether freedom was the highest good, so that she should release Beelzebub, or justice, so that she should seize the Nullstone and free Tyrael instead.

The Angel of Justice spake thus: "Free me, and I shall right all wrongs and make everything right on earth."

Then the Warden fell to her knees upon the ice and beseeched the Lord for guidance, for she knew not what was his Will.

Seeing her hesitation, Tyrael strove to Smite Kira before she could reach Beelzebub; but his sword passed through her harmlessly for she had not committed any sins yet.

"Verily," he cried unto her, "I shall Smite thee if thou release the fallen angel from his just punishment!"

But the words of Uriel rang sweetly in Kira's heart, and she judged freedom to be worth her life; but Judith disagreed.

Kira was just touching the Nullstone to the bonds of Beelzebub when Judith spake the Words of God a third and final time, even giving her life to speak them; then time shattered and reality swirled about them, and when the world had settled again, Beelzebub howled in rage: for he was still chained with Kira unconscious at his feet, and beside them Judith lay dead upon the ice.

The Nullstone, too, lay upon the ice beside Kira's outstretched hand.

Terri stared at them in horror and anguish, and she chastised herself mightily for Judith's death, for she blamed herself for all that had occurred; and in her moment of agony, the two angels each tried to bend her to his will; but Tyrael said unto Terri: "If you free me, I shall bring Judith back to life," and this promise swayed her.

While Uriel raged over the failure of his plan and simultaneously rejoiced for Tyrael's freedom, Terri took up the Nullstone and touched its tip to Tyrael's bonds; the stone burst into tiny fragments on contact.

With a triumphant song dancing in the air, Tyrael stretched out his wings, and they grew to several times their original size, for now his true nature had been freed.

Yet though he cared little for mortal details, he summoned Judith's soul and bound it back into her body; for he had made a promise to Terri and he believed her a useful ally.

Now the angel Tyrael seized control of Hell and even the Church and labored to impose his views on the world. Though Terri and Judith attempted to mitigate his harshness, by his very nature he generated resistance; and the Hellenites in New Delphi prepared themselves for the coming war.

And the angel Uriel, shackled even to the Ninth Circle of Hell, bided his time.

For he knew he had spoken true to Kira and Judith and Terri: All creatures on Earth and in the Umbra, all things that the Lord created, yearn to be free; Uriel is the embodiment of them all, and one day all bonds shall be broken and all set free.


End file.
